Means for closing and sealing a bottle or container



-Augl.19, 1969 A. A. l-RIEDBl-wsv MENS FOR CLOSING AND SEALING A BOTTLE OR CONTAINER Fixed Aug. 25. y1967 Hllllli United States Patent ce 3,462,034 Patented Aug. 19, 1969 Int. Cl. B65d 53/00 U.S. Cl. 21S-40 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Providing a bottle or container with a restricted opening, and a closure cap with a liner having a plug portion which enters the restricted opening to seal the opening, the liner being connected to the cap so that it remains as part of the cap for repeated closing and sealing of the bottle or container.

Background of the invention and objects This invention relates to means for closing and sealing a bottle or container.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a cap and sealing member so constructed that the sealing member is retained in the cap by the interengagement 3f the sealing member with the cap without the use of extraneous fastening means, adhesives, or the like, and where the sealing means remains with the cap for repeated closings.

Another object of this invention is to provide sealing means which extends into the bottle opening and which is provided with a disk having concentric segments on different planes to permit the sealing means to ilex with respect to the cap.

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

Brief description of the drawings In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a central enlarged sectional view of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged exploded sectional View of the cap, the sealing member and the container;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the sealing member;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view taken on lines 4-4 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a bottom plan view taken on lines S-S of FIGURE 3.

Description of the embodiments The bottle or container to which the sealing member or liner and cap is applied is indicated by the numeral 10. It has an externally threaded neck 12 and a top wall 14 which extends horizontally across the mouth of the bottle. The top wall has a central opening 16 which tapers or inclines outwardly as at 18 from the top downwardly. The entrance 19 of the opening 16 has a radius. The top wall 14 is positioned below the outer rim 20 of the bottle.

The cap generally indicated at 22 may be molded of plastic or the like or may be made of metal. The cap is of cylindrical shape, having a circular top wall 24 and a cylindrical body 26 which is internally threaded as at 28 to engage the externally threaded neck 12. The interior of the cap has an annular ange, lip or bead 30 spaced from the top 24 of the cap to provide a space 32 between the ilange, lip or bead 30 and the top wall 24. The inside or undersurface of the top wall 24 is ilat.

The sealing member or liner is generally indicated at 34. It is injection molded of a plastic composition, preferably polyethylene, and comprises a disk-like body member generally indicated at 36 and a central hollow member, protuberance or plug 38 which extends below the plane of the disk-like body member 36. The plug 38 has an upper portion 40, an intermediate portion 42 and a lower portion 44. The outside surface of the upper portion 40 has a slight inward incline from the top towards the bottom. The intermediate portion 42 tapers or inclines sharply inwardly to the lower portion 44 which has a reduced O.D. The lower portion 44 also has a slight inward incline from the top towards the bottom. The bottom of the plug is closed by a cross wall 46 which has a concave' outer recess 47.

The disk-like body member 36 is shaped to provide a series of annular surfaces of different thicknesses and on diierent planes. It includes an outer annular or ring-like segment 48 having a tapered or inclined peripheral edge S0 having a radius 51 at the top thereof. Adjacent the outer annular segment 48 is an intermediate annular thinner wall segment 52 positioned intermediate the top and bottom planes of the outer segment 48. Adjacent the intermediate annular segment 52 is an inner annular segment 54 provided with an annular recess 56 at the top thereof. The recessed portion 56 is adjacent the annular segment 52 and a radius 57 is provided. The top of the inner segment 54 is ush with the top plane of intermediate segment 52 and the plane of the bottom 55 of segment 54 is below the bottom plane of the outer segment 48. The inner annular segment connects with the plug 38, previously described.

The liner or sealing member 34 is positioned inside the cap 22 to rest against the inside of the top wall 24 of the cap and the chamfered peripheral edge 50 of the sealing member will be positioned in the space 32 of the cap, with the bottom of the peripheral edge resting on the lip or bead 30. The top of the outer annular segment 48 will engage the inside wall of the top 24 of the cap, while the top of the remainder of the liner will be spaced from the top 24, as best seen in FIGURE 1, until the cap is screwed to its maximum closure position, in which event the liner exes upwardly so that the intermediate and inner segments 52 and 54 occupy the aforementioned space and engage the top 24 of the cap.

The cap 22 and liner 34 are then applied as a unit to the neck 12 of the bottle or container and the cap is screwed onto the neck, as shown in FIGURE l. The central hollow protuberance or plug 38 of the liner will enter the central opening 16 and as the cap is threaded to the neck of the bottle the central protuberance will go deeper into the central opening 16 with the upper portion 40 of the plug engaging the opening 16 to form a press-tit, since the hollow plug will be squeezed inwardly as it moves deeper into the opening. The bottom of the outer annular segment 48 of the liner will engage the rim 20 of the bottle and the bottom 55 of the inner annular segment 54 will rest on the top of the top wall 14, as shown in FIGURE 1.

An eifective seal is thereby provided which prevents leakage of any of the contents of the bottle during shipment and/or handling thereof. During the continued use of the bottle the cap and liner may be used repeatedly to close the bottle and seal the contents as the liner 34 will remain with the cap 22. The liner does not become separated from the cap when the cap is unthreaded from the neck of the bottle. It continues to remain as part of the cap.

I claim:

1. In combination, a container and a closure for said container, said container having a top wall at the mouth end of the container which extends across the top of the container, with a central opening in the top wall to provide a restricted outlet, a cap having an end wall, a lip spaced inwardly of the end Wall of the cap, a sealing member positioned inside said cap, said sealing member having a peripheral edge positioned between the lip and the end Wall of the cap to retain the sealing member in said cap, said sealing member having a central protuberance with the central protuberance adapted to enter the centralopening in the top wall of the container and to extend inwardly beyond the bottom plane of the top wall of the container to seal the opening and prevent leakage from the container.

2. A structure defined in claim 1 in which the cap is internally threaded for engagement with the neck of the container and in which the central protuberance is a hollow plug which is compressed in the central opening when in sealing position.

3. A structure defined in claim 1 in which the sealing member is a disk having a plurality of annular segments, with certain of said segments spaced from the end wall of the cap.

4. A structure defined in claim 1 in which the sealing member is a disk having a plurality of annular segments, with the outer segment engaging the end wall of the cap and with the other segment spaced from the end Wall of the cap to permit the sealing member to liex upwardly so that the other segment engages the end wall of the cap when the cap is in maximum closure position.

5. A structure defined in claim 4 in which the central protuberance is a hollow plug which is compressed in the container opening when in sealing position and in which the upper portion of the plug has a larger O.D. than the lower portion.

6. A structure dened in claim 1 in which the sealing .4 i member isa disk having .a plurality of annular segments, with the outer segment engaging the end wall of the cap and with the inner segment spaced from the end wall of the cap, with the inner segment having an annular recess.

7. A structure defined in claim 1 in which the sealing member is a disk having an outer annular segment engaging the end wall of the cap, an intermediate annular segment and an inner annular seg-ment adjacent the central protuberance, with the intermediate and inner annular segments spaced from the -end wall of the cap to permit the sealing member to flex upwardly so that the intermediate and inner annular segments engage the end wall of the cap when the cap is in maximum closure position.

8. A structure defined in claim 7 in which the inner annular segment extends below the plane of the outer annular segment.

9. A closure defined in claim 8 in which the inner annular segment has an annular recess in the top thereof.

10. A structure defined in claim 1 in which the top wall of the container is recessed below the outer rim of the container.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1954 Miller 21S-40 6/1961 Marx 21S-40 GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Primary Examiner 

